


The Executioner's Duty

by GuiltyPleasuresAndDeadlySins



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Implied Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-12-16
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-27 10:37:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/294877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuiltyPleasuresAndDeadlySins/pseuds/GuiltyPleasuresAndDeadlySins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander's Aunt's just returned to Sunnydale, bringing with her a whole host of problems for the Scoobies to deal with.  And who knew that all they needed to get Giles to loosen up was an Watcher drop-out...sorry, kick-out, turned rogue demon hunter and her team.  Oh, and it's entirely possible that they're all actually dead...  Rating/warning subject to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been floating in my head for ages, and additional warnings/tags will be added as the story develops, the summary will also change as well. All French in here courtesy of Google Translate, my high school French is...forgotten I'm afraid. :S There is going to be _strong_ language in this, and most probably graphic violence eventually. We shall see. Enjoy. :)

It had been a patrol night, much like any other patrol night, apart from the fact that they were on the look out for some form of clawed demon that had started eating people (while they were still conscious if what Giles and Angel had said was true). They staked some vamps, searched some of the back streets and cemeteries, hell, Buffy even went into Willy’s to try and extract some information – somewhat futilely it turned out, no-one knew a thing about the current human-flesh eating demon. Then, they headed back to Giles’ apartment as they’d agreed. Giles had explained that he had other things to do, as an old friend from his Oxford days was in town and had demanded that they meet up and there was no way for him to wiggle out of it (and he had honestly used the word ‘wiggle’ when describing it).

The first thing that greeted the three friends as they walked into Giles’ apartment was not what they expected.

“Watch what you’re doing with that thing!” a female voice practically shrieked. Willow and Xander shared a look as they thought they recognized the voice.

“Well excuse me,” Giles’ voice snapped back, a note of slight amusement in it. “It went in, and it’s going to have to come out.”

The three friends froze at that. What the _hell_ had Giles been getting up to while they’d been out looking for that demon they’d encountered a few nights ago? And what the hell kind of friends did he have?

“Well be a bit more gentle about it!” the woman retorted, with more than a touch of acid in it. “I’m never going to hear the end of this am I?!”

“A chumann, I’d say it’s a little late to be worrying about that one. And of course not, it’s not every day that I have you in this position… Normally I’m the one there.”

“You’re not the one with this thing sticking in you this time!”

“’Thing’? It’s a…”

“Oh _that’s_ what we’re calling it these days,” the woman’s voice muttered, interrupting whatever Gile’s had been going to say and obviously earning her a none to gentle smack to some part of her body or other if the sound of flesh hitting flesh was anything to go by (earning a mumbled ‘kinky’ from Xander, a bright blush from Willow and a confused look from Buffy, this was her asexual watcher they were talking about!).

“And secondly, it’s your own damned fault.”

“How is any of this _my_ fault?!”

“Well for a start you came to Sunnydale voluntarily.”

“Voluntarily my _ass_!”

“I don’t think it’s your ass you should be worried about right now a chumann.”

“Bloody hell Rip! Just get it out already!”

“If you insist!”

A momentary silence, then a sharp yell and: “Ah fuck, son of a bitch! Je t'emmerde! Foutez le camp loin de moi! No you don’t, I swear if you do, you’re getting a taste of you own bloody medicine!”

Seriously, what kind of kinky stuff was their stuffy, British, librarian-Watcher _into_?!

“You’re not coming anywhere near me with that thing still in your hand!”

That was the only warning the three friends got before a slim tanned young woman appeared in the room, dressed in a set of low slung jeans and a sports bra, blood pouring down her side from a gaping wound. Giles followed her holding a rather wicked looking claw that would match her wound in his hands, which were covered in blood. The slim woman had raggedly cut, dark auburn hair, bangs falling into her eyes, the rest pulled up into clips at the back of her head and near black eyes. The back of her neck had an upside down cross made out of words that they couldn’t read (or understand). Both her wrists had tattoos (the Alpha symbol on her right, and the Omega symbol on her left), in her right elbow was the eye of Ra, her left shoulder had a normal Celtic cross with ‘RIP’ on the cross-bar and a list of dates and initials underneath it. Her throat had four kanji symbols just above her collar bone. Her stomach had two tattoos, a spider-web around her belly-button, with strands reaching up around her sides and back and a crossed axe and sword just above her right hip. Her lower back had a circular tattoo with three stylised ravens and Celtic patterns in it, the strands from the spider-web linking to it, and slipping further up her back to the cross at her neck. She also seemed to be ignoring the blood staining the top of her jeans, and the three friends.

Giles didn’t seem to notice the three friends either as he waved his arms, and consequentially the claw around as he spoke. “Now a chumann, if you would relax slightly we can have you stitched up in no time.”

The woman shuddered, eyes closed and wiry muscle almost shimmering under her skin as it made itself known, clearly remembering something rather unpleasant. “Rip, no offence dude, but I remember the _last_ time you _tried_ (and I do stress the ‘tried’ very strongly right now) to stitch me up. It took me three hours to correct the damage!”

“To be fair, I was inebriated at the time.”

“Yeah. As was I, which is probably why I let you do it! I was never _normally_ that stupid! But damn, I still managed to do a better job than you did, while still drunk!” The woman had reached the kitchen with that final taunt, and with a small sound of discomfort and a look of agony as the wound on her side stretched, reached up into one of the top cabinets (the one that the Scoobies had never seen opened), grabbed a bottle of expensive looking whiskey and then carefully circled back around Giles towards the bathroom.

“Not the good stuff!” Giles protested, reaching out futilely and yelping in a highly undignified manner as she smacked his hand like you would a naughty, overeager puppy (he even got the same look on his face a chastised puppy would when scolded).

“Well if you kept cheap non-brand stuff I would use that. As it stands, this is the one I’m going to take, mostly to _spite_ you.”

The door to the bathroom slammed and locked. Giles hit it briefly, then sighed, turned around and nearly leapt out of his skin as he noticed his three ‘charges’.

“Buffy, Willow, Xander…” he started. “What’re you doing here?”

“Post-patrol debrief?” Buffy offered. “You know, the one you ordered with the whole demon thingy?”

“Ah…that. I’m guessing you didn’t run into the demon?”

“How’d you know that G-man?” Xander asked.

“Xander, please stop using that infernal nickname. And I know, because I’ve just extracted the demon’s claw from the young woman who has currently incarcerated herself in my bathroom.” He waved the claw he was still holding at them.

“Incarcerated implies it’s unwilling Rip!” the woman’s voice called. “This is fully willing, and completely for my own protection from your non-existent sewing skills.”

“Shut up Exec! I still don’t understand why you didn’t go to a hospital after extracting the claw yourself.”

“Because some ane who I’d been having dinner with and decided it’d be a real good idea to take me back to _his_ to fix up!”

It all clicked into place then – the woman in Giles’ bathroom had been the ‘friend’ from his Oxford days, although she didn’t seem like your stereotypical Oxford graduate… Buffy had to wonder whether ‘friend’ had another less platonic meaning in this case. It didn’t explain why he called her ‘Exec’ and she called him ‘Rip’.

Giles chuckled quietly at the woman’s last comment. “You’re cleaning the carpet if there’s any blood on it.”

“Va te faire mettre! You didn’t _have_ to be so rough!”

“You didn’t have to storm out of the bathroom, a simple ‘please’ would’ve sufficed and I would’ve fetched you your preferred alcohol disinfectant, I’m sure I have some Russian Standard _somewhere_ in that cupboard.”

“Actually you have Glenn’s, right at the back. I just wanted to spite you.”

The three friends shared a look, Buffy for once not trying to pull Giles’ attention to them – there was something going on here that they didn’t quite get.

Xander was frowning, the switches into French, the tanned skin, the sharp, deadly features, shorter hair than he remembered, new tattoos as well but regardless of that…

“Why the hell is _my_ Aunt Mara half-naked in _your_ bathroom?” he demanded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention, Buffy isn't very nice to begin with, SHE WILL GET NICER!!! I just need to get to the right point...

_“Why the hell is my Aunt Mara half-naked in your bathroom?” he demanded._

Giles blinked at Xander. “You _know_ Exec?”

“If by ‘Exec’ you mean Aunt Mar, _yes_. She’s like the only non-drunk member of the family.”

“As in cool Aunt Mara?” Willow was suddenly bouncing excitedly. “As in Aunt Mara who baked chocolate cake and taught us French and all those other languages? And who let us stay at hers while she was in town and my parents were away?”

“Yes, that Aunt Mara.”

“I was under the impression I was the only Aunt Mara you two had Ix, Will,” the slim woman commented as she re-emerged from the bathroom with white bandages now wrapped around her stomach, a sharp contrast against her tanned skin. She handed Giles the bottle she’d previously stolen. “There’s probably a dram or two left in there,” she offered a tad sheepishly. “Sorry for all la merde I just screamed.”

Giles just shook his head, handing her one of his t-shirts, which she pulled on. “As if I expected anything else after pulling a Jikininki claw out of you. And why were you going after it anyway?”

“It was mutated and going after humans,” she pointed out as she twitched at the edges of the t-shirt that made her look undeniably young. “ _Live_ ones. You _know_ I can’t allow that Rip. I can deal with it eating corpses, but not live humans. Especially not when they’re still conscious. And in case you hadn’t noticed, it technically came after us first! Now Ix, Will get over here now.”

Willow and Xander hurried over and were immediately engulfed in a joint bear-hug, with Mara pressing kisses to both their foreheads.

“How you kids been?” she asked them quietly. “I was _so_ sorry to hear about Jess… I’m sorry I couldn’t get back.”

“Fine,” Xander replied shortly, hoping to avoid the inevitable questions that Mara would eventually get around to.

“Good, good,” Willow’s grin was audible. “We’ve been helping Gi- Mister Giles out with…stuff…”

“Will, I’ve just had a mutated Jikininki claw pulled from my side by an old friend who I _know_ is a Watcher, I’m well aware of what this place is, and the supernatural. I know what you’re doing. I’m assuming the blonde’s the Slayer?” The last question was directed at Giles who nodded.

“My Slayer Buffy Summers,” he introduced. “Buffy, this is Mara LaVelle. Watcher drop-out.”

“Enfer, I wasn’t a drop out! They kicked me out!”

“With good reason.”

“Ripper…you bring it up again, I will personally ensure that certain past indiscretions get reported.”

“They already have been haven’t they?”

“Yes, but they’re not being acted on.”

Giles rolled his eyes. “That aside. Why on earth are you in Sunnydale Exec?”

“Long story. I can crash here until my team get here can’t I?”

“You’re bringing a team?”

“Rip, have you ever known me to stay in one town for more than a week without my team?”

“You’re here for more than a week?” Xander interrupted Giles’ before he could speak, already planning his escape to spend that week with Mara.

“For the foreseeable future Ix. And before you ask, yes, Kel is coming with me.”

“Should I be worried that you’re bringing Kel to town?”

“Ma douce, my entire team’s coming. Why would you worry that I’m bringing my second? Now, can I get something to eat? I’m starved.”

“We only ate two hours ago.”

“Yes, and then I worked it all off fighting off that Jikininki with you. Which reminds me – start carrying a bloody axe in your car! Going after that thing with my switch was just plain…wrong! On so many levels! I’m surprised it worked…”

“I see,” Giles commented blandly. “Toasties alright dear?”

“Absolutely fine Rip. I-“

“Cheese and onion, no relish.”

“…You actually _remembered_ my toastie preference?”

“Children?” Giles directed his question at Buffy, Xander and Willow, ignoring Mara’s amazed exclamation.

“I should probably get home,” Buffy admitted. “I promised mum I’d be home before two in the morning today. As much as I’d like to stay…”

“We can get to know each other some other time,” Mara offered holding out her hand. “It was nice to meet you Slayer.”

“And you Ms LaVelle,” Buffy offered politely and was met with a faint grin.

“It’s Mara, or Exec if you prefer. _Never_ Ms LaVelle.”

Buffy left, more than a little perturbed by the look she’d seen glinting in the eyes of the auburn haired woman. Xander and Willow weren’t likely to be missed and were glad to have somewhere easy enough to talk with Mara. Giles busied himself making toasties for the four of them while Xander, Willow and Mara caught up, with some more than likely exaggerated tales from Mara’s travels (that said, the story about the incubus and one of the guys on her team could very well be true knowing the kind of people Mara tended to end up with). Giles delivered toasties, a cup of herbal tea to Willow, Earl Grey for himself, soda for Xander and normal tea for Mara.

“So exactly are you bringing Exec?” Giles inquired as they ate their late supper.

Mara took a sip of her tea, clearly trying to figure out how much of the information on her team to divulge. “Well, Kel you know obviously.”

Kelile Marsden was an ex-soldier who was Mara’s 2IC as far as Giles’ was aware. (The group Mara ran were effectively rogue demon hunters with a little more added on). He had heightened senses, was faster than your average human, and was a very good tracker. Giles had met him in a bar fight shortly after Mara got kicked out of the Watcher’s Academy, where Kelile had been very close to battering Giles’ face in until Mara pulled him off, and the three of them sat down, all nursing bruises and cuts, and drinking good whisky.

“We picked up Sookie, not that long ago, short for Sukhman, she is very good. A _brilliant_ fighter. And a Mesmer.”

Giles started, he’d met Mesmers, they were useful, but they were also highly dangerous. “You sure that’s safe?”

“Of course it is, Sook would never harm any of us. She generally uses her abilities to calm us down when we’ve gone off the deep end. Alright, next is Ash Kay, do not ask about the name, we _still_ haven’t got an acceptable reason out of him. He’s…he’s also ex-military, pretty much the same advantages as Kel. Finally there’s Zach Evans. He’s…he’s good. All you really need to know.”

Her eyes flashed with a protective light and Giles smirked.

“Sleeping with him are you?” he inquired in a light tone.

A smirk stretched across Mara’s lips as she shot him a smouldering look. “Wouldn’t _you_ like to know.” It really wasn’t a question, a statement of fact, a comment on the memories of their past at Oxford.

Xander and Willow both covered their ears and protested that they really didn’t need the images Giles and Mara were managing to instil in them.

“Oops,” Mara offered with a shrug as Giles stood to clear up. Mara rose to her feet to help.

“Exec!” Giles protested. “You’re a guest!”

“Rip, when have we ever considered each other _guests_?!”

“Good point, you had me vacuuming.”

Mara grinned and bumped him out of her way with one hip, throwing a wink at him over her shoulder as she started to do dishes. Giles looked back at the two teenagers trying not to fall asleep at his table.

“I’m going to assume that you two are staying the night,” he stated calmly.

Xander opened his mouth to protest, but firstly, Giles shot him a look as Willow accepted and Mara once again glanced over her shoulder, this time with a frown on her face.

“Ix,” she stated coolly, “I know you can take care of yourself, but if you try to leave this flat before dawn, I will personally kick your ass.”

Giles frowned at that to start with, he was more than aware that Xander’s home life was less than ideal, but then he saw the grin on Mara’s face, and the look of relief and fondness in Xander’s eyes.

“Understood Aunt Mar,” he whispered.

“I’ll go get sheets and duvets for the two of you,” Giles stated firmly. “Exec?”

“I’ll steal your floor,” Mara shot back. “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll give you a hand.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon, the adults had the two kids bedded down on the couch (Willow) and on an air mattress on the floor (Xander), and they retreated to Giles’ room with the end of Giles’ good bottle of whisky, and a couple of glasses. Mara shuffled out of her jeans and slipped into the bed, rolling her eyes and closing them at Giles’ insistent gesture.

“You’ve turned into a prude Ripper,” she whispered quietly as he slipped in beside her.

“That or I’ve grown up,” Giles offered with a smirk and a tilt of his glass. Mara swirled the amber liquid in her own pensively.

“Growing up doesn’t stop you letting an old friend admire the view.”

“I suppose not.”

They chatted quietly, the way they hadn’t over dinner, talking about the regrets they still had from their Oxford and Watcher days, and further back as they finished their drinks before flicking their lamps off and slipping down in the bed. Mara rolled onto her side, one arm coming up to slip under the pillow, while Giles shifted to curve around her smaller frame, one arm slipping up to his own head, the other catching around his waist, their legs coiled together. (Giles knew from experience that not curling around Mara ended up with her limpeted onto his side, making it close enough impossible to escape in the middle of the night). It was comfortable, something they’d done so many times before that it relaxed them both, and Giles could feel the near ever-present tension leeching out of Mara’s muscles as she relaxed into him.

“Good night Exec.”

“Night Rip,” she mumbled into her pillow. “See you in the morning.”

(Although, the latter sentence came out more like ‘S’you in th’morn’, and Giles had to fill in the gaps, but it made enough sense, and he’d known her long enough to be able to translate Mara Sleeptalk into plain English).

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Giles woke up to the scent of cooking from his kitchen, and the sound of the TV playing. He wandered into the living area to find Xander and Willow curled up together on the couch, while Mara moved around his kitchen preparing breakfast (pancake batter stood to one side, while bacon, sausage, egg and onion fried, and Giles was certain he hadn’t had all of the ingredients she was using last night). She smiled over at him.

“Kettle’s just boiled,” she nodded to it, “and I fetched the paper.”

Giles made himself a cup of Earl Grey and collected that paper, before retreating to the single chair in his lounge, to sip on the tea and read the paper as the ‘children’ watched cartoons. It felt horrifically domestic, and Giles knew he’d miss Mara when she moved out and into wherever she was going to live with her team. Mara sauntered out of the kitchen, flour in her hair, an apron tied around her waist, dressed in her jeans and one of Giles’ more casual button-down shirts.

“I hope you don’t mind Rip,” she smiled easily. “But my suitcase is still in my car at the restaurant, and I didn’t want to wander around in my bra. Fry-ups done, who wants pancakes?”

Xander and Willow looked up and nodded, and Giles shrugged.

“You’re the one who has to cook it dear,” he offered.

Mara was back in the kitchen when she threw back her retort. “Should I start calling you ‘Father’?”

“Only if you wish me to retort with ‘Mother’.”

Mara just grinned and carried plates back through, delivering them to each of the three in the living room before returning to the kitchen and getting to work on the pancakes. It didn’t occur to Giles that it was Sunday until Mara disappeared long enough to change into a smart suit, and grab clothes for Willow and Xander, shooing them into the bathroom and en suite to change into smarter clothes, before turning to him.

“Are you going to attend church with us?” she asked quietly.

“I’m somewhat lapsed in my faith…” Giles shot back.

“And Will’s Jewish, doesn’t stop her coming.”

Giles opened his mouth to say something and then noticed the nostalgic look in Mara’s eyes.

“Used to be a tradition of ours, synagogue on a Saturday, church on a Sunday. I’ve missed it…”

“They…they’ve never attended church to my knowledge,” Giles admitted, slightly embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.

“They wouldn’t have. Jesse was the Christian one. I don’t know if you’ve met my sister and brother-in-law, but faith was never something they encouraged. I had my faith, but that was different.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After church, they returned to Giles’ flat to find Buffy waiting outside, looking more than a little bit miffed.

“Where have you been?!” she demanded.

“Church,” Mara stated coolly, using her own key to gain entry to Giles’ apartment.

“Why?”

“Because it’s a Sunday Slayer. I would’ve thought that a Slayer would be at church on a Sunday assuring herself of the continued protection of that little trinket she wears.” Mara’s eyes glanced dismissively over the delicate gold cross Buffy was wearing. “Anyways, Rip, I’m taking over your kitchen, and making Sunday lunch. Coming Slayer?”

Xander and Willow share a look behind Buffy’s back – that’s the Aunt Mara _they_ know. Slick, fast, confrontational, and yet mothering all the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here, Mara's team turns up. :) With any luck, the next chapter will be better... This is just an introduction which isn't very introductory...

It was a few days after that Giles returned to his flat to find a note from Mara stating that she and her team were our house-hunting. Considering Giles had thought her team wasn’t due in for another couple of days, he was somewhat surprised to find that she was out. (The past few days she’d made dinner for the two of them (and normally Xander and Willow as well), although she’d stayed away from slaying so far…). That said, he was slightly relieved to discover that he was going to be regaining his flat to himself. Mara had grown up in a house in chaos, and consequentially ended up with a need for neatness that didn’t suit her wilder side that she often displayed.

He just settled down when his phone went off. “Rupert Giles?”

 _“How do you feel about furniture moving?”_ Mara’s voice was almost excited – at least, it was excited as Mara’s voice ever seemed to get.

“I feel that it’s something better left to professionals.”

 _“Ah, but you’d not get the famous LaVelle Whisky Cake!”_

“The LaVelle Whisky Cake as I recall, is only famous for…”

 _“Hush your blasphemous mouth! It was our great, great, great gran’s recipe, family tradition!”_

“Thought that was a Christmas thing dear.”

Mara laughed darkly. _“My Christmas tradition is, and always had been hide the rum.”_

“What’s the address?” Giles asked resignedly, deciding not to go down that road.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Half an hour later, Giles had arrived at the address Mara had given him, bringing the children with him. Mara and her team were carting boxes into the large manor that they’d somehow found. Xander grinned as he watched them, before leaping out of the car and running towards them.

“Ix!” a female voice exclaimed, and a slim, tanned skin teen dressed in a long, embroidered tunic top and trousers that caught neatly at her ankles, henna-like markings visible on her hands and neck.

“Sookie!” Xander caught the girl around the waist and span her around. The others had appeared at the girl’s exclamation, their hands briefly hovering over their hips where Giles was sure there were weapons within easy reach.

Mara waved at him as Willow hurried over, followed slightly slower by Buffy, and Xander introduced them to his friend with an exuberance the made Giles smile. Giles moved over to where Mara was stood flanked by two of the men, the other out to one side, watching the teenagers carefully.

The taller of the two men had dark skin, and a wicked glint in his eyes that promised Giles that there’d be trouble of the prank variety ahead. “Good teh see yeh again Rip,” he smirked, holding out his hand.

“Kel,” Giles inclined his head. “I have to admit, I hadn’t realized you’d be here so soon.”

“We got better flights mate, Exec’s t’other guard is Zach Evans.”

“Pleasure to meet you Mister Evans.”

“And you Mister Giles,” Zach nodded, “Exec’s told me…us so much about you!”

Giles shot Mara a look that told her they’d be discussing _that_

“It was all good I assure you mon cher,” she smirked. “Now, I see you brought your Slayer, shall we get to moving stuff?”

Giles nodded, deciding not to press for more introductions right now. Mara called her ‘troops’ to order, and started handing out jobs – Buffy and Kel were dispatched to carry the heavy furniture, with Sookie occasionally pitching in a hand, while Willow and Mara set to work on the small boxes, and the remaining boys took care of the larger ones. Giles didn’t ask about the arrangement, assuming that Mara knew what she was doing as they got the manor set up, notes getting tacked to door frames by the soon-to-be occupants, aimed at each other about the room purpose (the largest of the downstairs rooms was earmarked to be turned into a gym, and there was a note on the door in the kitchen written in a language Giles didn’t read).

Eventually the house was in some semblance of order and Mara was drifting from room to room, making sure everything was in the right place while Kel ordered food. She moved back through the living room towards the kitchen with a box on her hip.

“Who put the spices in the bathroom?” she asked, her eyes scanning the room.

Xander put his hand up sheepishly.

“Idiot,” Sookie commented fondly, from her side of the couch, her legs thrown up onto Xander’s lap, Willow curled on Xander’s other side reading a book that Kel had produced for her.

“Foods on it’s way,” Kel commented as he slumped onto the other sofa. “Hope we all like Chinese.”

“What did you get?” Zach asked as he meandered back past Mara, sharing a kiss with her as they passed.

“All our favourites, and a few things I thought we’d eat. Plus, extra prawn crackers.”

“Woot!” Ash Kay exclaimed, punching the air and leaning down behind Willow. “I see Kel’s trying to pawn off my tech books again. Enjoying?”

Willow blushed and looked over her shoulder at him. “Very much so. Thanks for the loan.”

“Anytime darlin’. Keep it as long as you need.”

“Jailbait Ash,” Mara sing-songed as she sauntered back in. “Hands off.”

“I can’t even _flirt_?!”

Mara flicked his nose as she passed, and dropped kisses onto the heads of all three teens on the couch. She nodded to Buffy as she settled down.

“Oh,” Sookie perked up suddenly. “Did I tell you I’m starting school next week Ix?”

“No, no you did not,” Xander replied, grinning. “Sunnydale High?”

“Where else?”

“Well with Aunt Mar and these lot, they’d probably just home-school you!”

“We considered it,” Kel admitted. “But we knew Ix and Will would be there with you so…”

Sookie grinned. “I also begged, pleaded and threatened.”

“And when all else failed tried to “persuade” us,” Mara added in a soft tone to Giles, with air quotations.

“I didn’t try _too_ hard!”

“That’s true enough,” Zach mumbled, barely looking up from his own book.

Ash and Kel both glanced over at the door.

“Who’s paying?” Ash asked.

“You,” Mara stated. “S’not like you don’t have enough money.”

Ash stuck his tongue out and headed for the main door just as the bell went. A few minutes later and he returned carrying a box, just as Mara reappeared from the kitchen carrying trays and plates which she set on the coffee table. After a few minutes, all the containers were open and on the table, and they were tucking in, filling their plates. Mara and her lot using chopsticks expertly, Giles himself using a fork, Xander causing much hilarity with his attempts at chopsticks, while Sookie tried to teach him, Willow and Buffy had chosen forks as well.

Laughter and chat filled the room, with Mara and her team sharing some of the more hilarious encounters they’d had with demons (including the time that Mara had found herself somewhat entrapped by a paranoid demon who thought she was an agent of the heavens, and the time Kel found himself being followed by besotted hyenas after he’d managed to piss off a tribal shaman while they’d been in Africa).

“Why hyenas?” Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose.

“We were walking across the savannah,” Kel explained, his chocolate coloured skin somewhat darker than it had been. “Tracking an escaped convict, she figured it was the most suitable punishment. Didn’t help that these four thought it was hilarious and took great joy in encouraging the hyenas.”

Mara was smirking. “Well why wouldn’t we? Their Alpha had the most _beautiful_ green eyes…”

“Sweetheart, you’re a dead woman.”

“I know. Now eat your chow mein.”

The sweet smile Mara offered had Kel sulking, while the others continued to chuckle at his misfortune.

“If you were expecting sympathy babe, you should know better than to point out _why_ the shaman cursed you,” Mara shrugged.

“If he hadn’t,” Sookie commented blithely, “one of us would have.”

The point was considered, before the three others chorused ‘fair point’, and burst out laughing. Eventually, Buffy pointed out that she needed to be patrolling, and Willow, Giles and Xander all agreed. Mara saw them to the door with a pointed look to Xander, but no words were offered, although Xander gave and exasperated sigh and nodded.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Mara watched the four of them depart from the window, a slight frown on her lips.

“Aren’t we hunting tonight?” Sookie enquired moving up beside her. “I would have thought that that is precisely what we would have done…”

“Sook,” Mara draped her arm around the younger woman, pressing a kiss to the girl’s forehead, “we’re not hunting with you guys jetlagged. Regardless of how awake you are. Once normal sleeping habits resume, _then_ we will hunt. See if you can’t get yourself in with the Slayer. It’ll make hunting in this town so much easier.”

“You going out Exec?” Ash asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Mara shrugged. “Not sure yet. Haven’t had any urges to.”

Ash jerked his head at Sookie. “C’mon Sook, let’s leave the ‘rents to talk.”

“I’m heading up as well,” Zach yawned. “Night.”

“We’ll be up soon,” Kel promised, “we’ll be quiet.”

“If you’re not…” Sookie left it hanging.

“You won’t be sleeping,” Mara commented as the younger three left, leaving her and her second in the lounge.

Kel settled further into the sofa, inviting Mara to lean against him with and insistent motion of his head. She moiled against his side, letting him loop his arms around her stomach and waist, pressing a light kiss to his chin.

“And now, you going to tell me what you refused to tell the children?” Kel lifted an eyebrow.

“I’m struggling,” Mara admitted quietly. “I…I _hate_ Hellmouths! They screw with _everything_.” She started mumbling in French, fury leeching into her words.

“So why did we come here?”

“Ix.”

Mara said that like it explained everything, and, Kel mused as he stroked her shoulder idly, it did really. Mara hated the fact that due to some wrangling by her brother-in-law, she had never been able to gain custody of her nephew, and hadn’t even been able to persuade the authorities to do anything, despite having proof of everything that went on. So, she came back when they weren’t needed in other parts of the world. It was unfair really, that there was only them ranging the world doing the job they did.

Okay, there were other bounty hunters, and the Council _did_ have wet works teams, but supernatural bounty hunters were something they _didn’t_ have. And regardless of having witches, it was very easy for people aware of the supernatural to get the magical equivalent of a white noise generator and completely block the signals they gave off (and Kel should know, he’d been responsible for procuring the rings that blocked the team’s presence and auras, allowing them to do things like have dinner with the Slayer without causing problems). So, as much as the Council hated them, they still used the services they provided, and frequently.

Still, Mara had a higher calling that even her team didn’t understand, and doubted they ever could.

“C’mon,” Mara said eventually, pushing herself upright, and tugging on Kel’s hand. “Bedtime for you yah big lump.”

Kel smirked and followed her up the stairs.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

 **Police Chief Found Dead In His Home.**   
_Suicide suspected._

 _The chief of the Sunnydale Police Department was today found dead in the house he shares with his wife. Roy Simmons (45) was found by his wife in the early hours of this morning, with a bullet wound in his left temple…_

Giles frowned at the paper, he didn’t often read the local rag, and if this was it’s idea of reporting. He wondered whether even the incompetents at Sunnydale PD would realize that it was murder – he was _well_ aware that the police chief was right handed, and there was no mention of a gun being found, in fact, the absence of it was noted, but not expanded upon.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!!!


End file.
